Besides sharing personal finance principles and deciphering Herman Cain’s 999 plan, I am still sifting through the valuable lessons I learned from BlogWorld LA 2011 (BWELA). I hate to admit it, but with all that is happening lately I am losing some of the energy I got right after the amazing event. Hopefully I can get my mojo back and give you some as well.

Justine Ezarik aka iJustine rocketed to fame with her YouTube videos and her rant about her 300 page iPhone bill. She suggested I use a question and answer format when I asked about expanding into video or podcasting. Whether it is 1 person or 10,000, someone out there may have the same question. I would be providing a service and an answer for them.

Rick Fox, who is working on Off Season: The Lex Morrison Story, told me to be a student when asked the same question above. Watch and learn from other video bloggers and podcasters and apply them to my own game. This is great advice, but shouldn’t be a surprise, from a three-time NBA champion.

Tim Street of 1TimStreet, who is known for his French Maid TV videos, told me elicit emotions with my content. If you get one emotional reaction, you are doing a good job. If you get two, you’re doing great. If you get three, you are a genius. Takes one to know one, Tim!

Peter Shankman of shankman.com and founder of HARO – Help A Reporter Out, wasn’t a panelist, but his keynote was off the charts. People I met throughout BWELA couldn’t stop talking about him. I enthusiastically agreed with their praise. My favorite lesson is “Make a backup plan for when you succeed.” Too often we worry about when things fail. Even more devastating is when something actually works, but you aren’t ready to fully take advantage of the opportunity. We should all tweak our lifelong mindset of backup plans and make them for success and not for failure.

Rick Calvert, co-founder of BlogWorld, displayed his patriotic spirit by continuing to allow people who served our country to attend BWELA for free. Don’t forget to thank those who fight for our freedom. He also gave us a little preview of an inspired by true events film, Act of Valor. It is an unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, which stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism.

If you went to BWELA 2011, what’s your favorite takeaways?

Stay Inspired!
Buck